Joint for universally adjustable frame



Oct. 16, 1956 R. GILMONT 2,767,003

JOINT FOR -UNIVERSALLY ADJUSTABLE FRAME Original Filed June 22, 1948 i9 hr 7 11 TTORNE I JOINT FOR UNIVERSALLY ADJUSTABLE FRAlVIE Roger Gilmont, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to The Greiner Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Griginal application June 22, 1948, Serial No. 34,452,

now Patent No. 2,630,342, dated March 3, 1953. D1- vided and this application January 22, 1953, Serial No. 332,619

1 Claim. (Cl. 287-541) The invention herein disclosed relates to laboratory frames such as used for the mounting of various elements employed in laboratory work, and is a division of patent application Serial No. 34,452, filed June 22, 1948, Patent 2,630,342, dated March 3, 1953.

Special objects of the invention are to provide a universally adaptable frame structure which may be quickly and easily set up or taken down and changed in various ways to meet particular requirements.

In particular it is a purpose of the invention to provide clamping elements which can be used in different ways and interchanged to provide desired frame constructions.

Other desirable objects and the novel features through which the purposes of the invention are attained are set forth and will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates present practical embodiments of the invention but structure and arrangement of parts may be modified and changed, all within the true intent and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

Fig. 1 in the drawing is a broken perspective view illustrating features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken sectional detail showing the upper clamp construction on substantially the plane of line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a broken sectional detail of the lower clamp construction on substantially the plane of line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a broken horizontal sectional view of parts as on substantially the plane of line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing how the cap securing screw may be extended to lock the clamp in angularly fixed position on the supporting standard;

Fig. 6 is a broken vertical sectional view on substantially the plane of line 66 of Fig. 4.

Laboratory frames embodying the present invention are made up of rods preferably of uniform diameter, connected together in difierent angular relations, as may be required, by means of special mounting and connecting fittings.

In Fig. 1, one of the rods 10 is disposed in vertical relation to serve as a post or standard for carrying, by means of a universal clamp 14, an angularly extending rod and by means of an end or top clamp 16, another angularly extending supporting rod 17.

The end clamp shown on top of the post at 16, is made up of a ring 26 bored to receive the end of the rod and split at 18, with the split portions secured together in clamping engagement over the rod by a transverse screw 19.

The passage 23 for the clamping screw is shown as intercepting the bore 24 for the rod sufficiently for the screw to pass through an annular groove 25 in the end portion of the rod so as to rotatably confine the rod in the clamp or confine the clamp on the rod, according to the particular relation of the rod and clamp.

The split ring 26 is shown provided in the outer or I nited States Patent 0 i 2,767,003 Patented Oct. 16, 1956 upper end with a screw seat 27 to receive the screw 28 for clamping an end cap 29 over the end of the ring, this cap and the ring having companion, substantially semicircular seats 30, 31, in line with or olfset from the bore 24 in the ring to receive and secure a rod, such as 17, at a right angle or other angle to the supporting rod 10.

The longitudinally extending socket 24 in one end and the transversely extending groove 31 across the opposite end enable this split clamp ring to be secured directly on the end of or across one rod and to carry a second rod at an angle to the first, holding both these rods in rotatably adjustable relation.

The universal clamp form of the invention illustrated at 14 in Fig. 1 and shown in detail in Figs. 3 to 6, may utilize the end clamp structure shown in Fig. 2 for holding one of the rods, the rod 15 in the illustration, and be connected with the other rod through a clamp pivotally engaged in the end socket of the first clamp.

In Fig. 1 and in Figs. 3 to 6, the first split clamp ring 32 is basically a counterpart of the split clamp 26, but in this instance is shown as slightly longer to efiect a greater lateral ofi set between vertical and horizontal rods 10 and 15.

Actually the same clamp ring 26 may be used in the universal form of fitting, since it has the and socket 24 to receive a correspondingly sized stud 39 on the disc-like member 40 which is grooved at 41 across the end opposite from the projecting stud to accommodate the other rod, in this case rod 10, held thereto by one of the correspondingly grooved end caps 29 and screw 28.

The stud 39 is of the same size and grooved similarly to the rods, enabling split clamp 32 or the shorter split clamp 26 to be engaged and secured over either the projecting grooved studs 39 or over the projecting grooved rod ends.

The universal form of clamp indicated at 14 in Fig, 1 therefore enables full angular adjustment of rods 10 and 15 with respect to one another and longitudinal and rotatable adjustment of these rods about their axes at both ends of the duplicate or combined clamp fitting.

The interchangeability of the rod ends and the projecting studs 39 in the sockets 24 of the split ring clamps 26 and 32, is of great advantage, providing for many structural combinations and relations not otherwise attainable. The split clamps can be engaged over and used in conjunction with either an annularly grooved rod end or the similarly grooved projecting stud of another clamp fitting, and any one of the fittings having such a projecting stud may be engaged and held in a clamp fitting having a socket for receiving a rod end.

To efiect firm holding of the clamp screws, lock washers may be used beneath the heads of the screws, as indicated at 48, and the presence or absence of these lock washers may be utilized for a further purpose, as brought out in Fig. 5, where the washer has been omitted beneath the head of screw 28 holding the end cap 29, thus to permit this screw to extend through the disc member 40 into a seat 49 provided in the end face of the clamp ring 26. In practice there may be a number of such screw end receiving seats 49 provided in selected angular relations such as will locate and effect the securing of the rotatable stud carrying piece in certain selected angular relations.

What is claimed is:

Adjustable framing for laboratory or other uses, comprising two rods of the same diameter, each annularly grooved at each end, one of said rods to be used upright as a support for the other rod, a split clamp having a longitudinal socket in one end and a transverse groove across the opposite end, a disc member having a projecting stud at one side engaged in the socket in the end of said split clamp and having a transverse groove at the opposite side engaged over the upright rod, an end cap grooved to fit over said upright rod engaged over said a 3 grooved end of said disc member with the groove therein in engagement with said upright rod, a screw adjustably securing said end cap to said disc member and whereby said split clamp may be secured in vertically adjustable and horizontally rotatable relation on the upright rod and whereby said split clamp is further rotatably adjustable about the axis of said projecting stud, a screw adjustably connecting the parts of said split clamp and intersecting the socket in the end ofthe split clamp for securing said clamp in relatively rotatable'relation on the stud, said stlid having an annular groove positioned to receive and receiving-said last mentioned screw and whereby said clamp is held by said screw in relatively rotatable butnon-removable relation on the stud, the second of said rods being disposed in said transverse groove across the end of the split clamp, an end cap engaged over said secand rod and grooved to rotatably receive said second rod and a screw adjustably securing said last mentioned end 4' cap to said split clamp and whereby said second rod is rotatably and slidably secured over the end of said adjustably mounted split clamp.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED'STATES PATENTS 998,210 Slentz July 18,1911 1,337,205 Dingman Apr. 20, 1920 1,729,910 Smallwood Oct. 1, 1929 1,830,355 Farr Nov. 3, 1931 1,845,672 Maher Feb. 16, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 268,679 Great Britain Apr. 7, 1927 630,409 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1949 Great Britain June 20, 195] Becker Feb. 21, 1905 

